Kurotsuki Renya personally shattered the masks of Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio and Cirucci Sanderwicci.
After the mask-breaking was complete, Dordoni sealed his Hollow core and reverted to a tall, muscular man. Deep cracks remained on both sides of his cheeks where the mask fragments had once been embedded. His face looked rough and weathered, but his temperament was unexpectedly gentle, very much unlike his former self as an Arrancar.
Cirucci, after sealing her Hollow core, returned to the appearance of a handsome young man as well. However, when Cirucci casually drew her Zanpakutō from an awkward position at her waist, Renya immediately regretted having broken her mask at all.
As former subordinate officers of the Privaron Espada, their combat strength was by no means weak. Especially considering that they had once injured Szayelaporro Granz without entering Resurrección, their baseline combat power was far above that of ordinary Arrancar.
With their situation settled, the next priority for Renya was clear
To help a Fullbringer undergo Hollowfication.
The white sands of Hueco Mundo stretched endlessly.
Renya stood at the center of the desert. Nearby were Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, Tier Harribel, and Ulquiorra Cifer. A short distance away stood Ginjo Kūgo, Tsukishima Shūkurō, Giriko Kutsuzawa, and Tristan.
Renya turned his gaze toward Tristan.
"Are you certain you want to be the first?" he asked seriously. "This compound is only a prototype. Failure is a real possibility."
Ginjo stepped forward instinctively.
"You really won't let me go first?"
Renya shook his head.
"Your soul structure is too complex. Shinigami, Hollow, and Human aspects already coexist within you. Stabilizing that balance would be exponentially more difficult."
Tristan exhaled slowly and nodded.
"With Tsukishima here," she said, "failure doesn't necessarily mean death."
Tsukishima calmly drew his sword.
His Fullbring ability Book of the End could alter the past of anything it cut. He could overwrite events that had already occurred.
Renya understood the logic immediately.
If Tristan lost control and suffered irreversible damage, Tsukishima could rewrite her past into a state where the Hollow influence had never critically damaged her soul.
Renya nodded.
"…All right. I'll begin."
He took out the Hōgyoku and stepped in front of Tristan. One face of the cube unfolded slowly, aligning itself with her.
Whoosh.
White substance immediately spread across Tristan's right eye.
At the same time, Renya produced a prepared injection and drove it cleanly into her body.
The primary purpose of the serum was not enhancement
It was soul stabilization.
The fusion of Quincy and Hollow requires the spiritual pressure of a Shinigami and a Human soul to suppress mutual annihilation.
The fusion of Shinigami and Hollow requires Quincy spiritual pressure and a Human soul.
But Tristan was different.
Her soul was already a fusion of Human and Hollow.
Renya had initially attempted to counterbalance her with Quincy and Shinigami reiatsu but quickly realized the flaw.
Tristan already possessed Hollow power innately.
Her soul contained Human and Hollow elements, yet lacked the opposing polarity required for suppression.
Quincy corresponds to Shinigami.
Hollow corresponds to Human.
A Fullbringer's soul, therefore, could not be stabilized using Quincy and Shinigami energy alone.
After extended experimentation, Renya reached a conclusion.
A Fullbringer must be stabilized using a Hollow that still retains Human soul remnants.
That was why Renya had traveled to the Human World and captured a Half-Hollow a transitional existence between Human soul and complete Hollow.
He refined that soul into a stabilizing compound and injected it into Tristan.
This did not directly increase her strength.
Its sole function was to prevent soul collapse during Hollowfication.
Just as Renya himself had once been injected with Quincy and Human soul fragments yet remained fundamentally Shinigami-Hollow in nature.
As Tristan's reiatsu surged violently, Renya retreated immediately.
"Nelliel," he said sharply. "Suppress her."
Boom.
Nelliel struck Tristan head-on, sending her flying across the sand.
Tristan landed, twisted, and charged again without hesitation.
White armor spread rapidly across half of her face as her speed suddenly increased. She closed the distance instantly and threw a punch.
Nelliel clenched her fist and met it head-on.
Boom!
Tristan was sent flying but she spun midair and kicked out violently.
Nelliel raised her right arm just in time.
Bang!
Pain shot through her forearm.
She was genuinely startled.
Even before Hollowfication, Tristan's attacks should not have been able to injure her.
But now
The increase in power was dramatic.
However, in the same instant, Nelliel drew her blade with her left hand and slashed cleanly across Tristan's body.
Pshhh.
Instead of blood, white Hollow matter erupted from the wound, rapidly spreading across Tristan's torso.
"Try not to injure her too deeply!" Renya shouted.
"Injury accelerates Hollow regeneration the more damage she takes, the more Hollow power asserts dominance!"
"Understood!"
Nelliel withdrew her blade and shifted tactics, pressing forward with controlled strikes while avoiding Tristan's legs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three rapid exchanges shook the sandstorm around them.
Yet Tristan kicked again.
Nelliel vanished in a blur and reappeared behind her, driving a punch into Tristan's back.
Boom!
Tristan flew, recovered, and attacked once more.
White Hollow matter continued spreading across her body.
Fifteen minutes passed.
"That's enough," Renya said. "Switch."
Each Masked Visored could maintain Hollowfication for roughly ten minutes. Nelliel, as a former Tres Espada, could hold fifteen.
Tier Harribel stepped forward.
She dodged Tristan's punch effortlessly and drove her elbow into Tristan's face.
Tristan flipped backward, leapt again, and brought her leg down in a devastating arc.
Harribel did not dodge.
She raised her own leg and struck back.
"Careful!" Renya warned.
Tristan's Hollow-enhanced kicking techniques had reached a level even Nelliel avoided head-on.
Two powerful legs one bronze, one dark collided midair, muscles tensing with overwhelming force.
Boom.
Neither was injured.
But Harribel retracted her leg instantly, seized Tristan's limb, and smashed her into the sand.
She followed, locking Tristan's thighs with her knees, pinning her shoulders, applying absolute physical restraint.
No matter how Tristan struggled, she could not break free.
Time continued to pass.
Thirty minutes elapsed.
White armor now covered Tristan's entire upper body.
Renya frowned.
"…Will it succeed?"
At that moment
Ulquiorra Cifer stepped forward.
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